Remarks by President António Costa at the joint doorstep with Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ursula von der Leyen
Good morning,
I am very pleased to welcome here today President Zelenskyy. Dear Volodymyr, you are always ‘bienvenue’, you are always very welcome here in Brussels.
Today is a very important moment at the Council to build European security. As you remember, one month ago, we had a very important brainstorming, but now we are here today to take decisions and to deliver.
First of all, I would like to thank the European Commission for coming up with the concrete proposals so soon. That gives us the opportunity to take concrete decisions to increase our spending capacity, to spend better, to build our own capabilities.
Of course, the security and defence of Europe is not separable from Ukraine’s security and defence. A stronger European defence boosts Ukrainian defence, and a stronger capacity for Ukraine’s defence is also very important to boost our own defence.
That is why we are here to support Ukraine, to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.
Dear Volodymyr, we have been with you since day one: We’ll continue to be with you now, and we will continue in the future – in the eventual peace negotiations, when you decide that it is the right moment to negotiate and, most importantly, in the future as a member state of the European Union.
Thank you very much.